Brooch construction



Dec. 17,` 1940. H. PULVER BROOCH CONSTRUCTION Filed April 16, 1957Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT 2 Claims.

My present invention relates to brooches, and has particular referenceto improvements in the construction of convertible brooches.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a simplifiedconstruction for convertible brooches which permits ready attachment anddetachment of separate ornaments to a common base.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a simplifiedconstruction for the interengaging parts, so as to reduce the cost ofmanufacture.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide a strong, sturdyconstruction which may be made of stamped metal.

Another object of my invention is to design the interengaging parts tobe securely locked against accidental separation.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, myinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following, in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, and more specifically defined in the claimsappended thereto.

In the drawing:

Fig.' l is a plan view of an assembled brooch;

Fig. 2 is a rear View thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a support plate construction for anornament;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cooperating base;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cooperating clamp device;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View showing a modified support plateconstruction;

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail showing the support base constructiontherefor;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View showing a further modified support plate;and

Fig. 9 is a perspective detail of the base therefor.

Referring to the drawing, the novel brooch assembly I9 as illustratedcomprises two separate ornaments I I, I2 which are detachably secured toa base I3, whereby either ornament may be removed from the base forindependent use as a clip, an ornament per se, a buckle, and the like.Each ornament has a support element I4 secured to the back thereof, thepreferred construction consisting of a metal plate which may be readilyformed from sheet stock, and which is soldered or otherwise securelylocked to the back of the ornament. The support plate I4 has guide lugsI5 formed at one end thereof and lock fingers IS formed at the other endthereof, the illustrated embodiment disclosing these guide lugs andspring fingers as integral with the support plate and positioned at theend and at the side edges thereof. The base I3, see Fig...4, is alsopreferably of stamped sheet metal and consists of a central portion I'Ifrom which spaced resilient arms i8 extend laterally, these resilient`arms forming shoulders i9with the central portion I1, and beingprovided with slots 2i) formed on their outer edges, the sides of theslots being rounded as indicated at 2l, and the ends of the arms beingrounded as indicated at 22.

When it is desired to assemble the parts together, the rounded ends 22are inserted within the guide lugs I5, and the base and the ornamentsmoved towards each other until they snap over the lower portions of thelingers IS, which seat in the slots 20, the shoulders I9 abuttingagainst the edges of the lugs I5 to prevent further movement inwardly ofthe two interengaging parts. With this construction, the two ernamentsmay be detachably mounted on the base, the base being provided with agarment engaging device such as a pin 23. The ornaments may have clampspermanently attached thereto, but it is preferred to have separate clampbodies which have lower portions 24 identical in shape and function withone half of the base, a clip element 25 provided with the usual garmentengaging prongs being spring mounted on each lower portion 24 asdisclosed in Fig. 5, and resiliently urged towards the lower portion.

The above described construction utilizes two spring arms which havecatch slots detachably engageable with the latch fingers I. Thisconstruction has advantageous features, and the strength of the lockingengagement may -be regulated by regulating the Width of the resilientarms. An alternative construction is shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the supportplate 26 having guide lugs 21 as shown, and a central latch element orbutton 28, the base 29 having its center portion 36 provided with spacedspring arms 3l which form abutment shoulders 32 therewith, the springarms having slots 33 for detachable engagement with the central latch23, the ends of the spring arms being rounded as indicated at 3d tofacilitate engagement with the latch 28.

If desired, a self locking construction may be utilized such asillustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, the support plate 35 having guide lugs 36and a center U-shaped spring linger 31, and the base 38 having a centralportion 39 and a relatively solid end portion il of lesser width toprovide abutment shoulders 4I, the end of the portion 40 beingbiiurcated as indicated in Fig. 9 to provide spaced arms 42 with lockrecesses 43 which are rectangular as shown, whereby the rounded arms 42force the two side spring members 31 towards each other initially andpermit them to expand outwardly into the slots 43 for locking engagementtherewith, the square forward ends 44 of the slots 43 preventing removaland separation unless the tip ends 45 of the U-shaped spring iinger,which extend above the base 40, are manually gripped to permitdetachment of the base from the ornament. Clamps similar to the clampsshown in Fig. 5, but having their ends shaped in conformity with thebase as shown in Figs. 7 and 9, may be used with the ornaments when thebase has been separated therefrom.

While I have described specific constructional embodiments of myinvention, it is obvious that changes in the material used for theparts, and in the shape, size and appearance of the parts, may be madeto suit different ornamental requirements and diierent uses for operablearticles of the type described, without departing from the spirit andthe scope of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, an ornament and a base, said ornament having twospaced guide lugs at one end for slidably receiving said base, and twospaced latch lugs adjacent the other end, and said base having a centralportion and a pair of parallel resilient arms extending therefrom toform a. U-shaped arrangement opening towards the end of the base, theends of said arms each having a catch recess on the outer edge thereof,whereby the base and ornament may be releasably secured together bysliding the base arms past the guide lugs, the resilience of said armspermitting lateral displacement of said ends, whereby the catch recessesare engaged by the latch lugs.

2; In combination, two ornaments and a base, said ornaments each havingtwo spaced guide lugs' at one end for slidably receiving said base, andtwo spaced latch lugs adjacent the other end, and said base having acentral portion and a pair of parallel resilient arms extendinglaterally from each side of the central portion to form two alignedU-shaped arrangements opening toward the end of the base, the ends ofsaid arms each having a catch recess on the' outeredge thereof, wherebythe base and the ornaments may be releasably secured together by slidingthe base arms past the guide lugs, the resilience of said armspermitting lateral displacement of said ends, whereby the catch recessesare engaged by the latch lugs.

HAROLD L. PULVER.

